As the final seconds ticked away Friday night, there was a sense of accomplishment by the Winder-Barrow High School players, coaches as well as fans and supporters at W. Clair Harris Stadium.

The Bulldoggs had just officially qualified for the state playoffs, something which had not happened since 2003, a season more than a decade ago. The six victories during the 2014 regular season tie the amount of wins for the program in the previous six years. Let that sink in for a minute.

So how did all this happen? How did it happen so suddenly, out of the blue? There are many factors of course but it starts with the man directing the WBHS program: Heath Webb.
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Few outside the inner circle of the Winder-Barrow High School football program would have predicted this.

As the game for Oct. 24 approachs, WBHS is in the middle of the playoff chase. Yes, the same Bulldogg program which hadn’t won more than three games in the last three years. The same WBHS program which hasn’t been to the postseason since 2003 and only twice since 1993.

But a strange thing has been occurring within this program. There is a new sense of enthusiasm. There is a new sense of confidence. There is a sense that this team is set to make one of the most remarkable turnarounds in, well, who knows when.
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The game’s outcome was all but determined but there was still the business of getting the final three outs.

Apalachee High School ace pitcher Becca Meade took the mound in the bottom of the sixth inning against Loganville High School last Thursday night and calmly went about her business.

The first LHS batter grounded out to Lady Wildcat Holly Janco at shortstop. Meade then struck out the second batter. A pop out to second baseman Brianna Bryson sealed the victory and the Region 8-AAAAA championship for AHS. The celebration was on.

It has been quite a season for the Lady Wildcats who won their first softball region title in program history. It has been quite an experience as well for new head coach Matt Allen, who was hired to direct the program during the offseason.

“Even when we got a big lead I didn’t want to look at the scoreboard,” Allen said. “I knew Loganville was a good offensive team and anything could still happen. However, our players went out and got the job done. This is probably our best performance of the season and it came at the right time.”

Defeating LHS in softball on the Lady Red Devils home field is not an easy task. LHS plays aggressive and often tries to pound opponents into submission. However, the AHS softball team overcame that home field advantage and took the fight to LHS. When all was said and done, there was not doubt who the better team was on this occasion.

The Lady Wildcats took away any doubt and was not going to let one play or one call by an umpire stop them from their goal. When you build an eight-run cushion, one play or one call is never going to defeat you.

“We were talking before the game about how we felt this place is cursed,” said Meade, who has been a steady leader in the pitcher’s circle for the AHS fast-pitch softball team throughout her career. “We broke that curse tonight.”

It’s not as easy as some people may think for a softball team to adapt to a new head coach. All coaches have different tendencies and go about things differently. Allen is no exception and he admitted there was an adjustment period.

“We’ve had players at positions they’ve never been at before,” the coach said. “However, we have everyone on the same page and we are showing just how strong of a team we are. Our players deserve credit for battling through everything that has been put before them from dealing with a new coach to competing in a tough region to winning the championship.”

While the Lady Wildcats have met some of their goals already, there remains plenty in front of this group.
AHS will be able to play the first two rounds of state at home. Just like other sports, home field advantage does mean a great deal in fast-pitch softball.

It was a special night for the Lady Wildcats on Oct. 9 in Loganville. The players were determined to win the region championship trophy and that’s exactly what they did. The odds may have been against AHS, but the players didn’t let them prevent them from doing what needed to be done in order to lift the trophy in the air.

Something tells me this group of players is not going to be satisfied with just a region title. Bigger and better things could very well be in store for this team.

Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. You can reach him at cbridges@barrowjournal.com.

Barrow County high school football fans can catch their breath this week as all three local teams will enjoy a bye.

It’s rare for three local schools to all be off on the same week, but it happened due to a quirk in scheduling. With no games to preview, I thought it would be a good time to look at each of our programs and examine a few things.
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Game week has arrived for the Winder-Barrow High School football team.

And it seems for the first time in who knows how long, the anticipation is just as great for WBHS fans as well. There is a true sense of excitement in the air that has been building since the announcement of Heath Webb as head coach several months ago.
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The 2013 football season was tough, without question, for everyone involved with the Apalachee High School program.
It was tough for the coaches. It was tough for the fans. And, of course, it was tough for the players. Seasons which end 0-10 always have a way of being tough. However, if the season last fall has done anything it has fueled the desire for all involved to get back to past success. It wasn’t that long in the past that the Wildcats were capping a 10-0 season and a postseason march that ended in the third round.

To some, that may seem light years ago now, but, in reality, it wasn’t that long. Now competing in Region 8-AAAAA, AHS will have a tough task against some opponents in 2014. There’s no denying that. However, this offseason I have tried to observe closely the work ethic by the players. And make no mistake about it, the players are working just as if they were coming off a playoff campaign. There are no excuses being made. There is no finger pointing. It’s a sign, maybe more than anything else, that 2014 could be better than some expect.

In a preseason poll conducted by this newspaper, AHS has been picked to finish last in the region. That is not a surprise because most voters in the polls of this nature tend to base preseason prognostications on what happened the previous season. (It should be noted that the Wildcats were NOT picked to finish last on each ballot.)
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The excitement level surrounding the Winder-Barrow High School football program has been extremely high when you consider the program’s history of non-success in recent years.

What is the reason for all the optimism? There are several, but it all starts with new head coach Heath Webb, who has brought not only a new offensive scheme for the Bulldoggs, but a much needed injection of confidence, enthusiasm and desire.
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The former Apalachee High School standout left an impression on the minds of Wildcat fans which will be long remembered.

What Lee has done since graduating from high school is just as remarkable, probably more so. Lee is entering his senior season at the Air Force Academy, is set to be in the starting lineup this fall and has high sights set on one day being a fighter pilot.
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